Package carrying crutch attachment



y 95 c. w. TAYLOR 2,553,730

PACKAGE CARRYING CRUTCH ATTACHMENT Filed NOV. 23, 1949 5 INVENTOR (gm/WATTORNEY$ Patented May 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT VOFFICE PACKAGECARRYING CRUTCH ATTACHMENT Clyde Wyndon Taylor, Jacksonville, Fla.

Application November 23, 1949, Serial No. 128,951

Claims. 1

The present invention relates to package-carrying attachments forcrutches, and more particularly to an attachment comprising a smallbox-like hollow device adapted to be secured between the downwardlyconverging, generally vertical members of a conventional crutch, saiddevice lying substantially entirely within the plane of the crutch whennot in use, and hence permitting free use of the crutch and presentingno projections or obstructions which might cause difliculty in theordinary use of the crutch.

It is an object of the invention to provide a package-carryingattachment of the type described, comprising a hollow device includingtop, bottom, front, rear, and end walls, the device being slightly wedgeshaped so as to fit between the downwardly converging members of aconventional crutch, the front wall of the device being hingedly securedto the forward edge of the bottom wall thereof and releasably secured tothe top wall, whereby the said front wall may be swung downwardly intohorizontal position for supporting a package.

A further object is the provision, in an attachment of the characterdescribed, of elastic means positively secured at one end to the deviceand adapted to encircle a package supported on the lowered front wall,the free end of the said elastic means being provided with means forattachment to the crutch, for securing the encircled package tightlythereagainst.

Another object is the provision, in an attachment of the characterdescribed, of means secured to the front wall and normally extendingdownwardly thereof, said means being adapted to engage the bottom wallof the device when the front wall is lowered into horizontal position,to serve as a support for the front wall or platform.

Other and further objects, features and advantages will be apparent fromthe description which follows, read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device of the invention inuse to support a package;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a central vertical section through the device of Figure 1;

Figure 4 .is a perspective view of the device in closed position;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a modification of the device.

In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference ismade to the embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawings anddetailed descriptive language is employed. It will nevertheless beunderstood that no limitation of the invention is thereby intended andthat various changes and alterations are contemplated such as wouldordinarily occur to one skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates.

The crutch attachment of the present invention comprises generally abox-like device or casing including fixed top and bottom walls i0 and H,end walls l2 and I3, and rear wall [4, and a movable front wall 15hingedly secured to the forward edge of the bottom wall II, as at l6.Secured to, or formed integrally with the front which, when the wall I5is swung downwardly into open position, as illustrated in Figure 3, isadapted to engage the bottom wall I l to prevent further downwardmovement of the front wall [5 and serve to maintain the latter ingenerally horizontal position under load.

As best seen in Figure 2, spaced pairs of laterally extending flanges l9and 25 are provided, formed integrally with or associated withrespective end walls l2 and I3. The latter are con-v verged downwardlyat the same angle as the respective generally vertical members 2| and 22of a conventional crutch with which the attachment is intended to beused, so that the attachment may be firmly secured, by wedging action,between the members 2| and 22, displacement of the attachment except bya vertical upward movement being prevented by the flanges l9 and 20.

The front wall l5 of the device is preferably strengthened by theprovision, on its inner side, of a corrugated or otherwise deformedreinforcing member 23, permanently secured to the wall l5 by welding,soldering or riveting. The member 23 may conveniently be formed toprovide channels 24 and 25 in order to strengthen the wall l5and, at thesame time, to provide convenient means for attachment of elasticpackage-securing means to be described. Such package-securing means may,for example, comprise elastic straps 26 and 21, one end of each beingformed to provide a loop or sleeve 28 encircling a spring clip 29 whichin turn is secured to the member 23 by having its inturned ends 30inserted through suitable apertures formed in the outer walls ofchannels 24 and 25, respectively. The free ends of the elastic straps 26and 21 are provided with hooks 3! and 32 for engaging the members 21 and22 of the crutch with which the device is used, in order to firmlysecure a package 33 against the said members, the said package alsoresting upon the horizontal platform provided by the front wall l5 whenswung downwardly into horizontal position.

When the device is not in use for package-carrying purposes, the straps21 and 28 may be folded and carried within the hollow interior of thedevice, the door being swung to closed position, in which position it isretained by a spring catch 34. The latter may be released by depressinga button 35 which extends outwardly through a suitable aperture in thetop wall of the device, and is resiliently maintained in place by thecatch 34. The latter may -comprise a strip of spring metal bentapproximately at right angles, the vertical portion thereof beingriveted to the rear plate M as at 36, and the lower end of said stripprojecting through a slot in the bottom wall H to provide a secondspring catch 39 for engagement with the extension I! of the front wall,when the latter is in lowered position. The hook shaped end of the catch34 is, of course, adapted to engage a suitable hook 31 provided at theouter edge of the wall l5.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 6, the flanges 19 and 28 areeliminated, and the device is intended to be permanently secured betweenthe members 2| and 22 of the crutch as by means of screws 33, or bywelding, riveting, etc.

The utility and mode of operation of the attachment will be obvious fromthe foregoing description. When the crutch user desires to transport apackage, it is only necessary for him to press the button 35 releasingthe wall l5, and swing the latter downwardly into the positionillustrated in Figure 3. The wall 15 is retained in this position by thespring catch 39, which engages the free end of the extension [1. Thestraps 26 and 21 are then adjusted about the package to be carried, andsecured to the crutch members 2| and 22 by means of the hooks 3| and 32,respectively. Due to their elasticity, the straps 26 and 21 will serveto secure packages of widely differing sizes, in firm engagement withthe crutch. When the package is removed, the straps may be folded andstowed within the attachment,

as illustrated in broken lines in Figure 3, and the 4 wall 15 swungupwardly into closed position, as also illustrated in broken lines, thespring catch 39 first being flexed to release the extension 11.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Attachment for crutches comprising a hollow casing having fixed top,bottom, rear and end walls and a movable front wall, said front wallhaving hinged engagement with the front edge of said bottom wall, meansreleasably securing said front wall in closed position against said topand end walls, elastic means secured at one end inwardly'of said casingand adapted to encircle a package supported on said front wall, meansfor securing said casing to a crutch, means for securing the free end ofsaid elastic means to said crutch, and means supporting said front wallin generally horizontal position when the latter is open.

2. A device according to claim 1, said end walls converging downwardlyto fit between the downwardly converging members of a conventionalcrutch.

3. A device according to claim 2, including a pair of spaced flangesextending laterally from either end of said casing and adapted toreceive between the flanges of each pair one of the downwardlyconverging members of a conventional crutch.

4. A device according to claim 1, including means secured to said frontwall and adapted to engage said bottom wall, when said front wall is inopen position, for supporting said front wall in generally horizontalposition.

5. A device according to claim 4, including a spring catch on saidcasing for engaging said supporting means and releasably holding thesame in engagement with said bottom wall.

CLYDE WYNDON TAYLOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,151,293 Dross Mar. 21, 19392,311,049 Hedden Feb. 16, 1943 2,423,635 Blum July 8. 1947

